Saturday, October 17, 2009

Brotherhood of the Wolf

(2001) ***1/2

According to French legend, a huge, wolf-like creature killed over 100 persons in the mid-18th century. Brotherhood of the Wolf is loosely based on that legend with a horror/fantasy edge to it. People are being mutilated throughout the French countryside by a huge wolf-like beast. The army troop who have been trying to slaughter it have been unsuccessful so two specialists, Gregoire & Mani are dispatched by the King to hunt and capture the creature.

A little lengthy at 2 ½ hours but a good film none the less. I really enjoyed the blend of fantasy & horror. The story in itself is very fantasy, Gregoire is vying for the love of the most desired maiden in the countryside. He and Mani are also drawn to a local brothel where Gregoire meets up with a mysterious woman who seems to have a certain power over the locals. The horror comes from the beast itself, the brutal slayings which are put right in our faces. The mystery of the creature, we see the attacks but from a perspective that never really shows the beast until much later in the film. I like that myself, I feel when they show too much early on by the end of the film I get bored with it.

The big bonus in this film for me was seeing Mark Dacascos in full action as Mani the Indian warrior. I've grown so used to seeing him as the stoic host of "Iron Chef America" that I almost forgot he was a kick ass action dude. He takes on his foes with such hellbent fury that he appears to be unstoppable, it's awesome! What a pleasant find this was in the midst of Horrorthon.

3 comments:

I saw this in the theater, actually. I thought it had a severely boring sag in the middle. When that dude you mention goes all ninja, it's certainly cool... but also kind of a surprise because he was pretty normal most of the movie.